Our recent three day taster cruise featuring beautiful wines and cheeses from the Hunter Valley in NSW had an additional attraction with a fantastic display from accomplished artist, Kristy Holt.
Kristy was on board the Pacific Dawn to share her experience with passengers in The Atrium while painting her latest masterwork. Her artistic journey began as a very young child covering an eclectic mix of artistic styles and subject matter.
Kristy uses a combination of traditional and non-traditional techniques of colour and texture and finds inspiration in books, song lyrics, life experiences and her surroundings. In recent years, she has won a number of awards and high commendations for her work.
More than 2,000 passengers enjoyed the cruise with its jam packed itinerary of events from wine, cheese, beer, martini tasting and coffee to work classes and entertainment programs.
A key specialist hosted each tasting event including:
- Duane Roy, owner and wine maker of the Glandore Estate Wines
- Craig Stansborough, chief wine maker for Grant Burge Wines
- Hiton D’Rose, barista trainer for Nestlé
- Rosalia Lambert, a cheese maker from the Hunter Valley Cheeses Company
- Scott Vincent, head brewer for Matilda Bay Brewing Company
The Comedy Club was in action and that’s always well received along with a jazz night featuring Neilsen Gough plus a production show with our very own Pacific Entertainers.
On our final night of the cruise, we tasted the culinary delights of our ‘Seven Course Degustation Menu’.
How do we create a work of art on a plate for more than 1,500 passengers who wanted to take part in the degustation menu?
Start by placing heaps of the main ingredients in a pot and then add creativity, planning, training, organisation, presentation, tasting and lots of passion topped with dedication and skill!
Led by our Executive Chef, Sean Waiter, Pacific Dawn’s brigade of chefs had plenty of support from Food and Beverage Director, Lars Kristiansen, who has great knowledge and passion for the finest food ingredients and wines.
Our seven course degustation menu consists of:
Choux Puffs
Filled with crème friche and salmon caviar
Grilled moreton bay bug
Shellfish bisque
Ocean trout
Grilled asparagus, braised fennel and beurre blanc
Quail breast
Polenta, broad beans and tarragon sauce
Wagyu strip loin
Artichoke puree, pancetta and peas, bordelaise sauce
Hunter valley washed rind cheese
Red wine and walnut bread, rosemary mousse and cranberry paste
Amaretto crème brule
Throughout the day, section leaders conducted several dummy runs with their teams to ensure all the flavours were captured consistently.
Food was arranged on plates in a variety of ways until we had a work of food art. Photographs were taken to enable the restaurant service team to preview the product look along with a briefing on the ingredients of each dish.
I had the opportunity to taste the sauces and the food. I will always remember the smiles on the chefs’ faces as we sampled wonderful dishes that had their creative input from start to finish.
Our Palm Court Restaurant doors opened at 5.45pm and we managed to serve our last meal at 10pm — slightly over 1,500 covers. The feedback from delighted passengers was astounding.
Alyn Baker
Hotel Director
